Late at night, everyone in the cave began to find comfortable spots to lie down and recharge their energy. Bai Xinjian walked to the crevice where water dripped, caught some in his plastic bottle base, and wiped his face to maintain his persona of being clean. He then returned to his original spot and lay down to sleep.
“Jianjian,” Bai Xinjian heard 0048 say in his mind, “That trick of yours is impressive. You have become a white moonlight in your childhood friend’s heart. But if you really act alone tomorrow and encounter danger, what will you do?”
“Take it one step at a time,” Bai Xinjian replied, not particularly concerned about whether he would encounter danger. “At worst, the mission will fail, and I will go to the next world.”
0048 wanted to say more, but as a system, it could hardly interfere with its host’s actions as long as they did not violate the rules. After some thought, it decided that Bai Xinjian’s logic held water and let it go.
Early the next morning, everyone in the cave was packing their bags and preparing to depart. Bai Xinjian had nothing to pack. Others had more or less used the points earned in their previous dungeon to exchange for life-saving props and daily necessities, but Bai Xinjian had no points and was naturally empty-handed. After dawdling through his morning wash and tidying himself up, Bai Xinjian did not say a word to anyone and stood up to walk toward the cave entrance alone.
Many in the cave had been secretly watching him since he woke up. Seeing he really intended to leave alone, a few could not help but mock him. “Going out like that without bringing anything? Will he be crying from fear the moment he steps outside? Aside from the abyss and the mission item spawn points, everything else in this dungeon is a wasteland. I heard members of other guilds encountered terrifying beasts in the wasteland yesterday. He has no props, not even food. He might get lost in the wilderness before even finding a spawn point.”
“So, what should we do? Do you really want to team up with him?”
“Hahaha, I would not dare. Whoever wants to can go ahead.”
“Luo!” As he approached the mouth of the cave, Bai Xinjian heard Zhu Jin calling him from behind.
“This is our redistributed public supply. There is some food and water inside, and a life-saving prop for emergencies. I exchanged for it with my own points; take it.”
Zhu Jin shoved a packed parcel into Bai Xinjian’s hands. “You…” He did not know what else to say. If Bai Luo were willing, he would disregard everything to form a team and protect him as they cleared the dungeon. But Bai Luo was right. Yesterday’s conversation had stripped away all their pretenses and tacit understandings, leaving him completely exposed. This childhood friend, who had grown up with him, had been delicate and spoiled, and had once rejected his confession because he was poor, now seemed entirely different from the image he had held. Perhaps it was his own lack of understanding that had led to this outcome.
From last night until now, Zhu Jin had tossed and turned all night, unable to find a way to salvage the situation. He began to regret it, not understanding why he had harbored such dark, secret thoughts in the first place.
“Is this what you call a mutual sabotage childhood friend combination?” As Bai Xinjian turned to leave, 0048 faintly sensed that Zhu Jin had begun to feel regret and reluctance. “At first, I thought the original host was the villain, but now it seems the protagonist had malicious intentions from the start.”
“Human nature. It is understandable,” Bai Xinjian said.
0048 sighed deeply, fretting about Bai Xinjian going out alone and encountering danger, chattering incessantly in his mind. Bai Xinjian, however, was busy planning how to explore this world. When Zhu Jin’s group returned yesterday, they mentioned that while heading to a spawn point, they had detoured toward the abyss that hid the giant monster. They claimed they could only get within a few hundred meters before the mist became too dense; the further in they went, the cloudier their minds became, forcing them to retreat before they realized something was wrong. From this, they surmised that without mission items, it was impossible to get close to the abyss.
An abyss that normal people could not approach—what secret was hidden there? Bai Xinjian intended to take a look, or at least understand whether the abyss was related to the monsters. If he could find connections between the monsters, the Transmigration Bureau, and other clues in this world, that would be ideal. After all, he was not truly willing to be a mere pawn. Earning 3,000 points per world would take forever to afford a down payment on a house, let alone buy one outright. It would be better to find a way to dismantle the Transmigration Bureau entirely.
Naturally, 0048 could not detect these thoughts. Bai Xinjian had already walked out of the cave, greeted by flying yellow sand. They were right; outside the cave was a vast wasteland. The sand hit him head-on, nearly blinding him. He raised his hand to shield his face, then suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from the sand.
Bai Xinjian looked toward the sound and saw a familiar tentacle. Do octopus legs count as seafood? Bai Xinjian mused. Would it not dry up crawling around in the sand?
Seeing Bai Xinjian had discovered him, the tentacle twisted excitedly in the sand, swimming toward his feet like a small snake before winding its way up his leg. When it reached his abdomen, its tip rubbed gently against Bai Xinjian’s belly.
Bai Xinjian, “…”
He pressed his hand against the restless tentacle and asked 0048, “System, do you have a navigation function?”
0048 appeared, “Yes, where do you want to go? I will pull up the map for you.” Evidently, 0048 had not noticed the presence of the tentacle.
“When do the mission items they mentioned respawn?”
“There are five mission item spawn points in the dungeon, respawning at the same fixed time every day. This means each person can only choose to visit one location per respawn cycle.”
“Is there a time limit for the dungeon?”
“Yes. The first player to kill the Abyss Colossus within five days after the mission items refresh wins.”
Bai Xinjian thought it over. Since one could not approach the abyss without items, from a normal player’s perspective, one surely had to secure an item first. He quickly made up his mind. “Then I will go to a spawn point first.”
0048 unfolded a map before Bai Xinjian. The nearest spawn point was to the north. Visually, the straight-line walking distance was about an hour and a half. It was currently 6:00 AM; the sunrise was early in the wasteland. The refresh time was 11:00 AM, so he should have enough time to make it. Bai Xinjian tapped the map. “Then let us go there.”
“Uh, Jianjian,” 0048 warned him, “That place looks close, but the journey requires passing through a rainforest. That rainforest is where the abyss is located, filled with dense fog. That is where Zhu Jin and the others went yesterday, only to find it impassable and retreat.”
“Is that so?” Bai Xinjian forced a look of delight. “Then that is perfect. I was planning to go near the abyss anyway; it is decided.”
0048, “…” The host remained as reckless as ever. It truly did not know whether to be worried or relieved as a system.
Clearly, based on the scouting done by Zhu Jin’s group yesterday, everyone else was heading in a different direction. Bai Xinjian walked into the sea of yellow sand, soon leaving the cave far behind. The climate and environment were more arid and treacherous than he had imagined. Having walked for only a short time on the sand, he felt the sun scorching his back. Furthermore, the intense glare and flying sand made it hard to open his eyes. Even with his sleeve covering his mouth and nose, the sand burrowed into every crevice. Before long, he could feel the gritty texture of sand in his mouth.
Fortunately, Zhu Jin had given him a supply pack before he left. He felt a hint of gratitude toward that childhood friend. After walking for over half an hour, there was still nothing but wasteland in sight. Bai Xinjian began to feel thirsty. He did not plan to rest, though. Checking the map, the forest where the abyss was located was less than twenty minutes away; he could stop for water once he arrived.
Just as he was thinking this, he felt the tentacle around his waist move. Bai Xinjian looked down. It might have been his imagination, but the tentacle seemed wilted, less lively than before, and its surface, usually covered in patterns and suckers, was no longer sticky and moist. The tip dangled like a dried-out rope, swaying at his waist as if it were turning into octopus jerky.
Bai Xinjian, “…”
He saw a towering boulder nearby, and its shadow could block some of the sun. He coughed softly and said, “Let us rest over there and get some water.”
0048 assumed Bai Xinjian was talking to it and hummed, “That is fine, Jianjian.”
Bai Xinjian walked toward the boulder in the scorching sun. The tentacle swayed at his waist, gratefully lifting its tip to scratch Bai Xinjian’s belly. Upon reaching the boulder, Bai Xinjian took a bottle of mineral water from the supply pack and was just about to twist it open to give the tentacle a drink when he heard the rumble of a motor nearby. It sounded like a modified off-road vehicle.
Bai Xinjian looked up. Through the flying sand, a four-wheeled off-road vehicle was indeed speeding toward them from the distance.